164A/N: this will be the final chapter of King Alistair, but the story will not end here. Along with my other projects, I'm readying an outline for part 2. For my loyal readers, I hope you have enjoyed this beginning, and will be a bit patient while I prepare for the next stage of Alistair and Bea's story, if you have any suggests please leave them in the reviews, thank you. Well without further gilding of the lily, here we go!
DG
Chapter 76: The End of the Beginning
"You have done so well, Sweetheart."
"Uh huh," Bea responded, not bothering to look up from her work table. She knew that her father would not take offense, not after everything their family had gained in the last few years.
The Arling of Denerim, a match between House Glass and the Arling of West Hill, a place of honor in the Royal court, and now…now…
Bea frowned slightly.
Now Arland was to marry into House Cousland, a fact that she had only just learned.
She shook her head.
She wondered what Lis thought of all this, and more importantly how would Arland react when he found out?
Would her elder brother do his duty? It was not like he was on the best of terms with the rest of the family right now.
She would try to get him alone, speak to him as they had done when they were children, of course, back then, it was he who had helped her see sense, the fact that their roles were now reversed was disconcerting to say the least.
She glanced up at her father. Arl Nathaniel was pacing with nervous energy. He had been positively buzzing since he had heard back from Fergus Cousland. He had hoped that Em would have been on her way to Highever to marry the widowed Teyrn, instead, he would be gaining a daughter. Lis Cousland would join House Glass and increase their already high standing here in the capital
A standing, Bea thought to herself, that her father would do anything to see it grow higher. No doubt he was already back searching for a match for Em.
But not for me, she thought with a hint of a smile.
Technically, she was off the market, or at least Bea hoped she was.
Her father glanced curiously at one of the many plants that still thrived here in her tower lab. This one, one of the less dangerous of her tainted creations was pretty in its own way; it also had developed a taste for flies and small mice, its cup like leaves filling with a very nasty yet sweet smelling toxin.
"Please do not touch, papa," she warned him.
"My work is dangerous for those who don't understand it."
He nodded and retreated quickly.
"Of course, dear, of course," he said, "Though it has not paid off as you had hoped. I must say that what you are doing has proved…very useful to our family."
"Yes it has," she agreed returning her attention to the plant on her work table.
"It is a shame what happened to your…experiment in the Hinterlands. It would have been good to have shown everyone just how valuable it is for Ferelden."
"Hm," she murmured, she did not meet her father's gaze. She stiffened her back and tried to appear angry, she had no desire to share with her father that her work was not the total loss she had feared it was a few weeks ago.
She thought of those plants, growing right now in a secret location, tended by Mister Rich's people, working from the notes she had provided. The secretary had provided her with the first report from the new site. So far, what she had read was promising, alas she would not be able to see for herself until the coming spring, and even then she would have to be careful.
No doubt people were still watching her.
"It would have worked, papa," she said, "It would have been a triumph for me, and for all of Ferelden."
He nodded his expression that of a sympathetic father, which was funny considering he had never really understood what and why she did what she did.
He saw what she was doing as merely a means to an end, to get close to the king, or simply as a means of profit. So many places had been touched by the five Blights, if her plants did work, if they did restore life to tainted soil, how much would counties still marked by the previous Blights pay to see barren lands restored?
Quite a bit, she thought to herself. She would have offered her discoveries freely of course. All knowledge was to be shared, especially knowledge that could benefit the world as a whole. Father would have seen such charity as foolish, and perhaps Mister Rich as well.
Good will could buy allies, she knew, but gold bought power, and it was power that House Glass needed right now.
At least until to Bea could finish what she had begun with Alistair.
"Your work is important to you, I know that Sweetheart," her father said, "Yet you should not neglect your personal life. The affections of a king should not be ignored."
"Do you think I'm ignoring Alistair?" she asked.
"I've heard you have spent much time in this tower since the…incident in the Hinterlands," he said with a frown, "Take it from an old man, do not waste away your youth while you have a chance to find a chance at happiness."
She looked up at her father.
"Alistair understands the importance of what I'm doing," she reminded him.
"I'm sure he does," he said, "But the king is a young man, my dear, and young men have desires, needs."
He gave her a sly smile.
"I'm certain you understand what I'm saying."
Bea frowned.
She did understand, and in fact, she had been trying to spend more time with Alistair of late. Something had shifted between them lately. She no longer sought to spend hour after hour on her work, she enjoyed spending time with Alistair, and he with her.
Her brow furrowed thoughtfully.
Maybe it was time.
"I understand papa," she said, "perhaps better than you realize."
She gave him a soft smile.
"Alistair and I had a chat the other day."
"What about?"
She smiled shyly.
"Children."
The Arl's eyes widened, his face lit up.
"Bridget, dear…are you…?"
She laughed.
"No Papa, not yet?"
"Damn," he said.
Bea fought the urge to laugh.
Normal fathers would not wish to hear that the daughter was with child out of wedlock, but then again, Nathaniel Glass had never been a normal father, and her relationship with Alistair was far from normal.
Ferelden needed an heir….
And the king was under great pressure to sire one.
"Jeyne will make you a grandfather soon enough," she reminded him, 'There is time enough for me and Alistair."
"If it is an heir the king seeks," her father said, "He should take you to bride first. He should not wish for anyone to be able to contest his children's claim to the Ferelden throne."
"Alistair understands that, papa." She said, "He does not seek to have a child that cannot take his rightful place as a true Theirin."
"Then why does he wait?" her father demanded, "It is clear he sees you more than a common mistress, or even a first mistress. The blood of House Keir flows through your veins. Our ancestors were storied once, proper matches for the Theirin bloodline; you are a proper match for any royal."
"It is not about my blood," she said.
"Then what is it?"
Bea sighed.
It was not about her at all.
It was about the king.
Alistair had told her about the taint in his blood. What that taint did, how it made procreation…difficult. Alistair knew he had to try and produce an heir, so he had kept no secrets from her, for which she was grateful.
There must be something I can do, she had thought, some potion or concoction that would raise our chances, barring that, if she could not give him an heir, than perhaps someone else could, someone whose body was more resistant to the taint, someone who her work could aid in that endeavor.
It was something to think about, though the thought of surrendering her lover to another woman did not sit well with her.
He is a king; she reminded herself, he belongs as much to Ferelden as he does to me.
The crown is what mattered, their happiness was…secondary.
She accepted that the moment she went to her love's bed.
Finding a way to increase the chances of a royal heir was one of the new projects she was now working on. She thought she could fight for life with life, perhaps a kind of tea, brewed from a plant that was more resistant to the taint maybe that could help purify the king's blood enough to…
It was a challenge, she thought, one that she was more than up to, knowing that when the spring thaw finally came, she would be able to see the result of her labor.
She would finally be able to journey to where Rich had hidden her work, and see what had become of it.
In the meantime she would focus on Alistair.
"Fear not Papa," she said to her father, "The winter will be long and cold, Alistair will not be going anywhere."
She smiled slyly.
"I will give my dear Alistair to see me as more than a simple companion, or at least reinforce the view that he needs me at his side."
Nathaniel Glass nodded.
"I knew I could count on you sweetheart." He said grinning.
"We will see in the spring," she promised him.
"Agreed daughter," he said…
"…in the spring."
IOI
Lorelei watched from a darkened window of her estate while the Cousland cow carried Quentin Glass off with a small escort of guards.
It was about time, she thought, she had just about sent for Mister Jesper, to have him make sure that the Arl's son did not freeze to death in a snowbank. Amusing though that might be; it would do nothing to help further her plans.
She smiled to herself.
Plans that were, now, finally beginning to pick up speed.
Plans that Quentin Glass had a large part to play in, though he did not realize that just yet.
The Bann of Amaranthine paused, and listened to the sounds of merrymaking in the estate below. This was the third such party in as many weeks, some might say such frivolity was wasteful, but for the newly minted Bann, it was necessary.
There were still those in the royal court that questioned her ascension to the title Bann of Amaranthine. These troublemakers were allies of her late mentor Esmerelle, who had yet to accept her place at the head of the table now that the other noble was gone.
It would take time to silence such voices, time and stronger allies. The celebrations held here helped make friends and cement those new alliances, that, and the clink of gold coins. She could simply buy support with the gold from her city, but why waste the gold when a kind ear and the promise to speak to this person or that could buy the same aid.
The Bann turned away from the window, she knew that she could not simply remain up here, she was the host of this gathering and her presence would be missed if she stayed away for too long.
Lorelei wanted no one to doubt that she was anything more than what she was, the young heir of a noble line. Eventually she would be able to reveal who she truly was, but for now…
She needed to keep up appearances.
Jesper remained her agent, her eyes and ears beyond this estate and the court. He continued to run her spies, and keep an eye on mother Allison and the Orlesian ambassador. She was not quite ready to approach either of them yet with a possible alliance, but in a few months, after the snow melted who could say?
She also continued her investigation into what happened in the hours after the death of the Hero of Ferelden during the Siege of Denerim. Something about those events felt…off to her, and she was determined to learn if something more had gone on behind the scenes.
Both the chantry thing and the warden thing were future projects that she hoped would bear fruit, yet that had not meant that she had been idle oh no.
Her greatest victory over those who had so weakened House Howe had already occurred.
She had burned the Glass wench's plants to a cinder, costing her family both power and prestige.
That would teach the wench to go so easily to the bastard king's bed.
Jesper had not wanted her to lead the attack herself, but Lorelei would not be dissuaded. She had spent months practicing her arts, preparing for just such an occasion.
She would not deny herself the pleasure of seeing the destruction she wrecked that day.
She smiled at the memory, but that smile soured as she thought of the three guardsmen, the so called "heroes" who's returned spoiled her victory that day.
The bastard king was quick to bring them into his service, to cloak himself in their legend. The support of Couldry and the others had done much to appease the traditionalists that did not trust the bastard-born King Alistair, and had neutralized at least a few of his opponents.
It now fell to Lorelei to pick up the pieces, perhaps she could bring Mother Allison into it someway, or the Orlesians.
The thought brought a hint of a smile to her lips; the giggles she tried so hard to suppress tried to rise as well.
One bastard versus another, she thought to herself, Howe against Theirin!
It would be almost a…Battle of the Bastards…a battle that she intended to win.
She would not see the king profit from his victory. Not when he had built so much on the ashes of her late father's house.
No, she thought grimly, House Howe would be avenged!
Theirin, Cousland, Glass, they did not realize it yet, but they had started a war when they profited from Rendon Howe's death. If his recognized children would not carry that war banner, than it fell to her to see it done.
She would reclaim everything her father had lost, everything!
For now though, she needed to be patient.
She smiled, warmed by the thought of what was coming soon.
She would enjoy the winter months, make allies, plan her plans, and prepare for the next stage of her ascension.
Winter would not last forever after all, and when the spring came she would have new pieces to move…
Starting with Quentin Glass, and when all was said and done, she would have everything she wanted…
…Everything.
IOI
Only one more Your Majesty."
Alistair nodded as he accepted the last scroll from Wilbur Rich's hand. He and the secretary had been working through the afternoon, seeing to the last requests and edicts that had required the king's attention.
Alistair perused this last piece of parchment, a request from Bann Shianni, the landlords in the Alienage were talking of raising rates their again.
It seemed he might have to intercede on their behalf.
Alistair signed the paper with flourish and handed it back to his secretary, Rich glanced at; it nodded, and placed with the other matters that he needed to see tended to tomorrow.
The king of Ferelden sighed and rolled his head on his shoulders cracking his stiff neck.
He never thought he would miss the days of marching across Ferelden during the Blight, but then again, all he had to do back then was worry about people trying to kill them.
The threat of being buried in paperwork seemed far worse than that, or then again, perhaps he was simply romanticizing "the good ole days."
He smiled to himself.
Being around Bea made it easy to think of romance.
He almost laughed.
She certainly did have an effect on him.
For the briefest of moments, Kallian's face rose up again, unlike before however; the memory did not cripple him as it once had. The pain was still there yes, but it was not as sharp as it once was, it had become a dull ache, like an old healed war wound, instead of a sharp dagger like pain.
It had taken time to heal his heart after losing Kallian, sometime it had seemed that it would never occur, but slowly, with Bea's help.
Alistair had begun to hope for the future, both his and his kingdom.
He glanced over at Rich, who was currently checking the papers, making sure that the ink had not smeared after the king had powdered them.
"You know," the king said conversationally, "There was a time that Eamon would be overjoyed to know I spent an evening doing the whole royal thing."
Rich chuckled.
"You do not think he would approve now?"
"I'm not sure to be honest," Alistair shrugged, "After months of pushing me to take my duties more seriously; I get the feeling that Eamon is not as happy about it as he lets on."
Rich gave him a knowing look.
"The chancellor got used to running things while you learned your duties," Rich suggested, "He likely got used to wielding that power, and now that he isn't.."
The secretary shrugged.
"Power is not an easy thing to give up once it is yours, Your Majesty."
The king nodded, he knew that to be the truth, but still…
He had hoped Eamon would at least be a little more supportive.
Maybe he is not happy with the choices you have made, the part of him that was still the boy that wanted the former Arl's approval chimed in.
Alistair frowned.
Maybe he is unhappy with the choice of who you choose to be with.
The thought made his eyes narrow.
For months Eamon had pressed him to move on, find a woman other than Kallian, and now that he had…
Despite initially supporting the Glass family, and Alistair's relationship with their youngest daughter, now the chancellor seemed to be withdrawing that support, the king was not sure what had happened, but he was not blind, and could tell that the former Arl was pulling away from House Glass.
It was confusing to say the least.
Alistair was well aware of Eamon's situation, both as a politician and as a second time father. He knew that Isolde dotted on their young daughter, and wondered if the former Arl of Redcliffe would be happier not to have such heavy duties forced upon him.
After the last few years, Alistair finally felt comfortable picking up the slack. He was still not sure how good he was at it, but he could muddle through as needed.
He gave his secretary an appraising look, once he would have wen to Eamon with the question he was about to ask; now he found it safer to confer with his secretary. Wilbur Rich had done much for both him and Bea in the last few months.
He found it safer confiding in him.
"Tell me Will," he said trying to sound nonchalant, "How does the royal court view Lady Glass?"
The secretary paused; the oily smile seemed to grow.
"Our we talking about Lady Glass as your scholar or your companion, Your Majesty?"
"Both," the king replied, "I'm curious what would be said if say…Lady Glass' position in the royal court became more…permanent, more personal than simply one of the many scholars that enjoy our patronage, and more intimate than a mere companion."
Rich paused; it seemed that the man was thinking of how best to answer the question.
Alistair was not sure he liked that.
"Lady Bridget has her enemies and rivals, make no mistake. If she was to…take a new role in the royal family there would be some opposition. The Orlesians would complain; the Ambassador still harbored hope that you might choose to make a match with Lady Florianne…"
The secretary's expression turned slyer.
"Of course, you would also gain allies as well, the Circle is fond of Lady Glass, as is Lis Cousland, though if the rumors are true of Fergus seeking to marry her off to Arland Glass; House Cousland may become even more of an ally to Lady Bea than it already is. Plus there is the former Queen Anora's position, she seemed…interested in Lady Glass, that could go far to cementing your control over many who still consider themselves MacTir loyalists, at least in private."
Alistair continued that. He was smart enough to realize that his heart was not his own and ceased to be his own when he had taken up Cailan's throne.
It would be nice to have had been able to simply approach the girl he loved and marry her, and spend the rest of his life giving her the best life he could.
He sighed.
The crown and the throne made such choices difficult; he always had to think of the nation, and then his own happiness.
It was annoying to say the least.
"If I did want Bea to be more, to take a large role in my life, what would be the best time to prevent that idea to the nobles?"
Rich's brow furrowed.
"The safest course of action would be to wait until House Glass had a major victory, you could use that success to dispel any naysayers here in the capital, and use that success to bolster the nation's support."
"What kind of victory?"
The success of one of her experiments would be good," he replied, his eyes twinkling mischievously.
"If only that experiment had not been lost."
Alistair nodded; He understood why the secretary did not speak freely.
Even in the palace, there were eyes and ears everywhere, and he had not had time to make sure they were not being watched or listened to.
The king nodded.
It seems he would need to wait.
"Thank you Mister Secretary," he said, "You may go."
"Your Majesty," Rich said offering a grand bow, he turned on his heels and made his way out of the king's office.
Alistair sighed and sat back in his chair.
He looked out at the window, at the frosted glass and falling snow.
It was a cold world in which he lived.
He recognized that he needed to be careful.
He rang the bell near him, to summon one of his servants.
A young elven girl responded.
"Please ask Lady Glass if she would join me this evening," he said.
The girl curtseyed and hurried off to fulfil his command.
Alistair sighed again.
He wanted to shout how he felt to the heavens, to let the Maker himself know how he felt about Bridget Glass, that he wanted her in his life, as not just a scholar, but as a companion, friend, and lover.
If he had not been a king, he would have gone to her himself, he would have gotten down on one knee and pledged his life and love to her.
He would have asked her to share his life and the opportunity to share hers.
But that was not to be, not yet, he had to be a king first.
He stared out into the cold dark night.
A man could do what he liked; a king would have to wait.
Until the spring he thought, when Bea could claim victory, and he could claim her.
The thought made him smile.
Shianni would have approved, and hopefully Kallian would have too.
She would not have wanted him to remain alone forever, and he would not be.
I will wait…he thought.
The spring will come.
NOT THE END!
A/N: So good readers what did you think? Are you eager to see this story continue? Please let me know, in the meantime I hope you enjoy my other projects, until next time dear readers.
DG
